BBC programme promotes dangerous practice, warns Calor Gas

Calor Gas has expressed extreme concern regarding a recent episode of BBC2's 'The House that £100k Built', which showed how to recycle a gas cylinder into a light fitting.

The episode – which aired on 2 October – implied that a Calor Gas cylinder was used, according to the company, and showed a cylinder belonging to Calor’s subsidiary Budget Gas being dismantled.

Calor Gas has stressed that such activity is not only highly dangerous but also unlawful. Throughout the duration of their life, gas cylinders remain the property of the gas cylinder company and can only be lawfully disposed of by that company.

Last year, the Health & Safety Executive successfully prosecuted a company after one of its employees had been seriously injured when trying to cut the top off an unused propane gas tank.

Calor Gas is concerned that not enough steps have been taken by the BBC to alert the programme’s 1.9 million viewers that the activity shown is extremely dangerous. According to the company, it would be reasonable for a viewer to think from the footage that they could use an angle grinder on a gas cylinder in its natural state; this could in fact result in an explosion and significant injury – if not death.

The company expects the BBC to acknowledge the dangerous nature of the footage and broadcast a formal statement, in order to alert viewers to the dangers involved.